


Little Child Be Not Afraid

by thesilverwitch (orphan_account)



Category: Marvel
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-01-11
Updated: 2012-01-11
Packaged: 2017-10-29 09:03:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,266
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/318103
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/thesilverwitch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For the prompt: "Tony or Steve is captured/injured and Thor helps the other one cope."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Little Child Be Not Afraid

“Tony don’t worry, we’re gonna find him.” Everyone keeps saying the same thing, and after a while their voices start to blur. They all say Steve’s gonna be fine, that they’re going to find him, but how can they be so certain?

They have no leads; they barely even know who they were messing with, just some guys in weird, black costumes preaching about a fake God who’s supposedly going to eat the Earth. And they took Steve, as the Avengers brought them down one by one, they grabbed Steve and ran away like cowards, leaving no hints as to why they would even do it.

This basically left Tony worrying a hell of a lot. They’ve only been team members for a couple of months now and Tony already really likes Steve, the guy is sharper than anyone else, has a wicked sense of humor and his looks definitely don’t hurt the eyes. For the past days, well weeks really, Tony had been trying to find a way to ask Steve on a date, or just tell Steve how he feels, but now Steve’s gone and Tony can’t help feeling like he’s too late. The fact that everyone on SHIELD’s terrifying helicarrier kept walking around as if the world was about to end certainly didn’t help.

Tony’s in a corner, earlier he’d been pushed away by Natasha after he tried to help to locate Steve with the use of his Stark Tech, apparently his help equaled the help of a baby when he’s under stress, which is complete rubbish because Tony has been under stress since the day he was born. He hadn't just become stressed because the life of his best friend is in danger and there’s not much he can do about it.

“Man of Iron, you look quite distressed.” Tony looks up to find Thor, standing tall and powerful above him with a look of quiet contemplation on his face.

“Yeah, I’m just worried about Steve, that’s all.” Tony waves his hand in the air as he talks in a dismissive tone, hoping Thor gets the hint that he doesn’t really wanna think about it, much less talk about it. Unfortunately Thor was never one for picking up hints, and the fact that Tony looks like someone just told him his newest, and most brilliant invention is broken, doesn’t seem to help his case.

“Everyone is working their hardest my friend, it is sure that we will find Captain America.” Thor said as he sat in the empty chair next to Tony.

“But what if we find him.” Tony lowered his voice close to a whisper which made Thor lean forward until their faces were almost touching. “And he’s not okay?”

Thor looked directly into Tony's soft blue eyes as he spoke with an intensity that only a true God could provide. "Captain America is warrior, weak men that hide under pitiful masks could never harm him."

"You really think so?" Tony isn’t usually one to feel or show such uncertainty, much less in a public space where anyone could see him. He’s the head of a billionaire company, a superhero, a brilliant genius who thousands of people looked up to, he was supposed to be confident at all times. But he couldn't, not now, not without Steve safe by his side. Besides, everyone on the helicarrier was so busy, they barely even gave the two men quietly talking in a corner a second glance.

"I am as sure of it as I am sure of Odin's power." Replied Thor in his usual, incredibly assured tone as he placed a firm hand on Tony's shoulder. "But I do advise Man of Iron, that if you have something to say to our great friend; you should say it before it's too late." And Thor gave Tony a look, a look that says anything and everything in less than a second, a look that clearly means 'I know what you've been thinking and I know what you’re thinking right now'. It’s a nerve inducing look, which created chills all the way down Tony's spine and left Tony staring open-eyed and gaping at Thor as the other man got up and walked away with a smile on his face.

Thor knew. Thor totally knew Tony liked Steve. He knew and chances were he's known all along. For a guy like Thor, who literally never gets a hint and who used to think pop-tarts where tarts that went ‘pop’ when you warmed them, he could certainly pick up things where nobody else could even see. Maybe it was a power that came with being a God, or maybe Tony was just not that good at hiding things.

It was probably the first option; Tony had an awful amount of practice at hiding things.

Be it by luck, or by the powers of the Gods, maybe even the real Gods if Thor had anything to do with, they found Steve. In a warehouse, not very far from the fight scene earlier in the day, tied to a chair with a broken nose, and a couple of minor bruises, nothing that the super-serum couldn't fix in a couple of hours. Turns out when the bad guys realized they were losing badly and pathetically, they panicked and grabbed whoever was closest to them to ask for a ransom or to just demonstrate how powerful they were that they could actually kidnap a hero. Thing is, they weren't really planning on kidnapping Captain Goddamn America, National Hero and living legend. In the three hours it took SHIELD and the rest of the Avengers to find them, the Mindnix, as they enjoyed calling themselves, basically sat on their own sorry asses and thought about what the hell they should do next.

Tony's just glad none of them came up with the brilliant idea of  _disposing_ themselves of Steve, of killing Captain America with a bullet behind his head like true cowards and dumping his body in the dark ocean, where it would never be found. God only knows what Tony would have done to all of them if they'd arrived too late to save Steve from the deplorable scumbags who took him.

As soon as Tony saw Steve, an alive and not badly damaged Steve, able to stand up on his own feet and even crack a smile at Hawkeye's bad joke Steve, he rushed to the other man's side and gave him a giant, friends only, hug, which earned him a deep groan from Steve, who apparently also had a couple of bruised ribs.

Tony stepped away immediately as he started to babble apologies. "Oh shit, Steve, I'm sorry I didn't mean to-"

"Tony, it's okay." Steve says with one of his easy smiles, even in pain he looks happy, and he probably is just happy to be alive.

"Oh man, you should have seen Tony freak out about your sorry ass in the helicarrier Steve. Natasha had to send him to the pity corner." Jokes Clint, which earns him a couple of laughs from everyone close enough to hear him except for Tony, who just glares bloody daggers at his stupid face and creates a mental note to dye all of Clint’s clothes later.

After the joyful re-encounter they all head back to the mansion, Steve having to stop first by SHIELD’s medical center for a check-up while the others go ahead without him. Tony starts shrugging off the armor as soon as his feet touch the pavement stones by the door, taking each piece down as he walks to his workshop. Time always seems to melt away to Tony when he's in the workshop, minutes turn into seconds and hours turn into minutes, if it wasn't for the ridiculous amount of Stark Tech laying around anywhere you look with digital tables that told you whatever you wanted, be it the time, the sports results, how much time does a super-serum soldier take to heal from minor bruises, the weather and other random stuff like that, Tony would probably never know what hour, maybe even what day it is.

But as it is, he does know the time, and he knows that it takes Steve exactly forty-three minutes to arrive home. Tony hears, rather than sees Steve, as he comes down the workshop's stairs and punches in the code on the digital door. His steps are heavier than usual, probably because Steve is still injured from earlier, and it's a bit weird for Tony who usually doesn't even know Steve is there until he's being dragged away from his work by strong, solid hands as he hears Steve mutter "Time for bed Tony". He doesn't turn around as he waits for Steve to say something, because it's usually Steve who starts their conversations and after all Steve was the one coming down to meet him, but when he finds himself greeted by only silence Tony decides today is his turn to do start say something.

"Steve, do you want something?" Tony asks quietly.

"Were you really worried?" Steve asks, cutting right through the chase with a piercing look that seems to go straight by Tony. Tony gives him a quick once-over glance before looking away, Steve has new clothes and he’s showered. His hair is still a little bit damp on his forehead and his broken nose has already started to heal at visible eyesight, he looks tired.

"About you? Of course I was."

"But why?"  _Why?_  Why was he worried about his best friend who’d just been kidnapped by God knows who and taken to God knows where? What kind of question even is that?

Tony doesn't realize he's talking out loud until Steve answers him.

"No I mean, I'm a soldier Tony, I'm trained for this stuff, you know that."

"Well yeah but-"

"And Thor told me" Of course Thor told him, dammit Tony’s never sharing anything with him again.  "You were really worried, so I wanna know why." And Tony isn't sure on what to say or how to answer, he wants to be honest, to tell Steve he was worried out of his mind about losing him, that he could barely even produce a single rational thought as he stared at a huge screen with a map of all the possible places where Steve could, that he really liked Steve and that he could no longer imagine life without him.

Tony stares at the blank wall above Steve’s shoulders for what seems like a long time, carefully measuring his words while being acutely aware of how closely Steve was watching him.

And the thing is, Tony thinks he’s got it. He thinks he has the perfect answer, the perfect lie, one that Steve would buy and soon enough shrug off as just another thing Tony said. He knows what he should say, but he doesn’t want to because the words Thor had earlier spoken to him still ring in his ears and Tony is sick and tired of lying through his teeth to everyone he cares about. So he tells Steve the truth because that’s what Steve asked for, because if Steve hadn’t wanted to let the topic go then neither does Tony.

“I like you Steve, as in I really like you, I wanna be with you whenever I can, and I was scared, God I was fucking  _terrified_  of losing you because I couldn’t picture a world where you and your stupid Colgate smile don’t exist.” Tony says it all in one breath, and when he’s done talking the only thing he’s able to do is continue to stare at a blank wall.

“How long have you- How long have you felt like this?” Steve asks as he slowly starts to walk towards Tony, who is still avoiding his eyes at all costs.

“A while.” Tony answers, not meaning to be enigmatic, just no wanting to admit that ‘a while’ is actually ‘pretty much since the first moment I saw you’, and Steve is right in front of him now, standing so close Tony can smell the soap and just a little hint of dirt on his clothes.

“For a genius Tony, you can be really blind sometimes.” Steve says and before Tony has the chance to ask what the hell that mean Steve is kissing him, just a light kiss on the lips but it’s more than enough to make Tony feel like he’s on cloud nine. He’s dreamed about this, fantasized about Steve pushed against him and kissing away all of Tony’s problems, and while this isn’t nearly as intense as Tony’s dreams, it’s a really nice start.

Steve’s lips are incredibly soft against his; a contrast compared to Tony’s chapped ones. Steve tastes of a mix honey and chocolate, a weird mix for Steve who’s all about healthy diets and eating properly. Tony is dimly aware that he must taste of coffee and coffee only, but he doesn’t really care.

They say like that for a while and “ _Oh_ ” is all Tony is able to say when they pause to take a breath.

“Really, really blind.” Steve says, but he’s smiling, he’s practically glowing and radiating happiness and Tony thinks he has to agree, because yeah, he should have definitely seen that one coming.

\-- + --

_Little child, be not afraid_ _  
though thunder explodes and lightning flash  
illuminates your tear-stained face  
I am here tonight_

_And I hope that you'll know_

_Everything's fine in the morning_ _  
the rain will be gone in the morning  
but I'll still be here in the morning_


End file.
